In-motion scales, for example, conveyor scales with a conveyor belt, are used in the food industry among other places. Precisely in these cases, the cleaning of the in-motion scales plays a large role, in order to be able to guarantee the required hygiene or purity of the produced products. Here it should be noted that the term “in-motion scale” is used in the course of this description for all scales that have at least one load cell for determining the weight of goods being weighed, as well as arbitrary means for feeding the goods to be weighed to, or leading them away from, the load cell or the point or area of a weighing platform at which the weighing process is performed. In the case of dynamic in-motion scales, frequently a conveyor belt is used that is coupled with the load sensor of the load cell, so that the weight of goods to be weighed on the conveyor belt can also be determined while the belt is moving. A static in-motion scale could be realized, for example, so that goods to be weighed are pushed onto the weighing platform by means of a suitable feeding device, and after a successful (static) weighing process, the goods are removed again from the weighing platform. Thus, the transport means could be realized in various ways, for example, as a (relatively simple) robot arm, slider, or the like. They could be mounted optionally on the weighing platform or on the machine frame.
The cleaning of complex or sensitive production machines, such as, for example, high-quality in-motion scales, requires, as a rule, appropriately trained personnel. Cleaning processes are often time intensive, because the in-motion scale must be opened at positions provided for cleaning and the cleaning of certain areas must be performed.
If in-motion scales, in particular, conveyor scales with at least one load cell and a conveyor belt, are used in the food industry for the production of food in a production line, these are often constructed so that the conveyor scale is largely covered in order to increase measurement accuracy and user safety. Then the conveyor belt can be cleaned, for example, with a steam-jet cleaner. The cleaning process is performed after disconnecting the conveyor scale from power to stop the conveyor belt.
If cleaning of the in-motion scale, as implemented to some extent, is performed during operation, then first there exists the risk that an operating person will be injured by moving elements of the transport means, or the in-motion scale will be damaged, for example, if a steam-jet nozzle collides with a moving element of the transport means.